1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lighting sources which employ visible and reflective laser beams to provide illumination of airport runways and taxiways, preferred approach and departure routes, helipads, seaplane base landing areas, marine waterways, as well as to assist in search and rescue operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many airports handle different types of aircraft ranging from highly sophisticated and complex military aircraft and commercial airliners to ultra-simple single engine airplanes with little in the way of navigation or communication capabilities. Further, the pilot's experience and ability associated with these different aircraft also varies greatly. Edges and center lines of runway and taxiways are typically illuminated with individual incandescent lamps of comparatively high candle power. The type of illumination utilized in many previous systems exhibited a comparatively high installation cost. The power requirements for such prior system also were excessive, and the systems were expensive to maintain The construction and maintenance of a standard electric illuminating system in certain areas is not always practical Federal Regulations require these areas to be "lit" for night operations. This invention uses lighting sources which employ visible and reflective laser beams to provide illumination airport runways and taxiways, preferred approach and departs routes, seaplane base landing areas, marine waterways, as well to assist in search and rescue operations.
The related art is represented by the following patents interest.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,407,294, issued on Oct. 22, 1968 to Alan E. Hill, describes a method for redistributing laser light into a non-coherent uniform beam while retaining other property of laser light. Hill does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,098, issued on Jan. 9, 1973 to Noel H. F. Walden, describes a swept-beam visual light assembly including a laser light source, a beam collimator, and a beam-sweeping means. Walden does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,032, issued on Feb. 11, 1975 to Raymond M. Veres, describes an illumination system for providing center and edge stripes for an airport runway, in which six laser generating stations are respectively arranged in with relationship with the ends of the proposed stripes. Veres does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,111, issued on Mar.20, 1979 to Hans Hansson et al., describes an omnidirectional retroreflector assembly that can be attached to an aircraft structure designed for carrying external loads such as bombs and rocket missiles, enable a combat aircraft to be quickly and easily converted for service as a target for anti-aircraft gunnery practice with laser equipment of the above described type. Hansson et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention
U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,891, issued on Jan. 29, 1980 Paul Kaestner, describes a laser diode optical collimating system. Kaestner does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,294, issued on Sep. 22, 1981 Wendell D. Chase, describes a landing approach lighting system which utilizes red warning lights to delineate the runway approach additional blue lights juxtaposed with the red lights such that the red lights are chromatically balanced. Chase does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,726, issued on Nov. 5, 1985 to Richard M. Berg, describes methods for making and assembling various orthogonal multifaceted polydeltatrihedral self-supportable corner reflectors. Berg does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,543, issued on Nov. 19, 1985 to Ivan S. Wyatt et al., describes a glide slope indicator system which light from an incoming aircraft's landing light is shaped a spherical/cylindrical lens combination into a line image which strikes a linear photodiode array. Wyatt et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,912, issued on Oct. 20, 1987 to Marshall J. Corbett, describes a laser system for illuminating a column of air which captures an aircraft thereby enabling; a pilot to see the air column and "bucket" during take-off and landing Corbett does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,696, issued on Nov. 17, 1987 to Harry L. Task et al., describes a portable glide slope indicator including a pair of light sources, one projecting a steady beam and one projecting a blinking beam. Task et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,402, issued on Dec. 13, 1988 to Bruce F. Field et al., describes an unmanned, self-propelled vehicle in the nature of a mobile robot that has an on-board computer that stores path and machine function instructions and activates the drive and steering systems so as to cause the machine to follow a desired path. Field et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,164, issued on Aug. 29, 1989 to Henry C. Croley et al., describes a portable infrared landing site illumination system for fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft having night vision capabilities as provided by the Army's second generation goggles (PVS-5) or the third generation goggles (ANVIS). Croley et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,713, issued on Nov. 13, 1990 to Charles W. Wyckoff, describes a direction-indicating surface marke strip comprising a bottom rubber-like (non-memory) surface for adhering to a roadway and an upper crosslinked plastic elastomeric self-restoring (polyurethane, PVC, polycarbonate, epoxy, rubber etc.) surface. Wyckoff does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,343, issued on May 19, 1992 to Reginald S. Bennett, describes a truncated pyramidal pylon useful for aiding night landing of helicopters or fixed wing aircraft but also useful as an emergency marker to be carried in ambulances, or other emergency vehicles. Bennett does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,267, issued on Dec. 15, 1992 to Eli Yablonovitch, describes an omnidirectional optical reflector structure made by forming a plurality of holes in a solid body so as to result in a face-centered cubic lattice. Yablonovitch does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,742, issued on Apr. 13, 1993 to Andrew A. Frank et al., describes a laser radar apparatus for producing a pulse modulated transmitted light beam and receiving reflected light beams from road mounted retroreflectors. Frank et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claime invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,162, issued on Mar. 8, 1994 to William D. Bachalo, describes a laser tracking device which includes a laser generation apparatus for generating and transmitting a laser beam. Bachalo does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,581, issued on Dec. 6, 1994 to Richard J. Wangler et al., describes a helicopter hazardous ground object warning system that has a horizontally rotating beam from laser range-finder which detects and measures the distance to ground objects which may present a hazard to a helicopter during hover, takeoff, and landing. Wangler et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,636, issued on May 16, 1995 to Reginald S. Bennett, describes a runway marker which has a pair of upwardly converging reflectant planar panels facing approximated in opposite directions. Bennett '636 does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,402, issued on Jul. 2, 1996 to Robert M. Dahl, describes a wireless flight control system. Dahl does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention
U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,137, issued on Dec. 17, 1996 to James W. Teetzel, describes a laser sight which fits conventions handguns and rifles without requiring major modifications of the weapons and yet fits within the profile of the weapons framework Teetzel does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,114, issued on Jan. 14, 1997 to Louis F. Ruhl, describes an landing system which allows the pilot to view the approach scene with the use of a forward looking radar or equivalent sensor which provides the means of identifying the runways and the airport and land the aircraft using the automatic landing systems on virtually all types of aircraft. Ruhl does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention
U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,120, issued on Oct. 21, 1997 Michael M. Tilleman, describes an electro-optic transportation warning system which operates by transmitting an optical signal from a moving vehicle through air to a fiberoptic cable relay, one end of which comprises a collimating means to receive the outgoing optical signal and the other end of which is connected to a probe means to scan a given air path which is out of the direct line-of-site of the moving vehicle. Tilleman does not suggest laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,568, issued on Feb. 17, 1998 to Peter J. Adams, describes a device which indicates the clearance requirements of an aircraft maneuvering on a surface such as apron, taxiway, or flight deck. Adams does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,062, issued on Jun. 1, 1999 to Mark H. Krietzman, describes a secondary power supply for use with handheld illumination devices. Krietzman does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,285, issued on Jun. 25, 1999 to Cornell W. Alofs et al., describes a vehicle comprising a navigation and guidance system for guiding the vehicle based on information supplied by a first device that senses the heading change of the vehicle and a second device that measures all movement of the vehicle along the surface the vehicle is traversing. Alofs et al. do not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,706, issued on Nov. 2, 1999 to Naoki Nakayama, describes a wide incident angle reflective plate comprising a laminate of a substrate and retroreflective sheet adhered to the surface of the substrate, which plate is used for improving visibility at night. Nakayama does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,163, issued on Dec. 7, 1999 to David C. Brown, describes a laser spotlight system which illuminates an ambient environment while minimizing the risk of causing irreversible eye damage when gazed upon. Brown does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention
Canada Patent document 2,015,859, issued on Jul. 24, 1991, describes a truncated pyramidal pylon useful for aiding night landing of helicopters or fixed wing aircraft but also useful as an emergency marker to be carried in ambulances, or other emergency vehicles. Canada '859 does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
European Patent document 0 076 243 A1, published on Apr. 6, 1983, describes an omnidirectional reflector adapted to embrace as a continuous unit a light source situated in the center of the reflector. European '243 does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
European Patent document 0 102 931 A1, published on Mar. 14, 1984, describes an omnidirectional reflector having a light source situated in the center thereof. European '931 does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
European Patent document 0 171 030 A1, published on Feb. 12, 1986, describes a retroreflective road-marking stud having constant omnidirectional effect, which is self-cleaning and can be renewed on the road without exchanging the reflector. European '931 does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
European Patent document 0 283 441 A2, published on Sep. 21, 1988, describes a lighting system employing light sources and prism elements. European '441 does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
European Patent document 0 807 830 A1, published on Nov. 19, 1997, describes a vehicle-mounted optical radar including semiconductor laser, a photodetector, and an optical beam forming system having two curved mirrors. European '830 does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
Great Britain Patent Application Number 2,202,980 A, publish on Oct. 5, 1988, describes a flight path indicator including a plurality of individual light sources, beam-forming means for directing light from each of the light sources through a respective color filter and lens system to produce a plurality of differently colored diverging light beams and means for directing the beams at different inclinations to define different angular sectors. Great is Britain '980 does not suggest a laser lighting system according the claimed invention.
International Patent document WO 92/04232, published on May. 19, 1992, describes a marker light for airfields that includes light source and a prism so as to provide two light beams with a desired elevational angle relative to the ground level plane. International '232 does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
International Patent document WO 99/26214, published on May 27, 1999, describes an optical hazard detection system for aircraft based on a dynamic parallax mechanism to alert the pilot of an object in the flight path by a selected amount of time in advance. International '214 does not suggest a laser lighting system according to the claimed invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.